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The Great Gatsby
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The Great Gatsby Paperback - 2021

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This tale of money, love, and the pursuit of the American dream constitutes the quintessential portrait of Jazz Age America. Fitzgerald's luminous prose depicts both the era's glamour and its seedy underside.


About this book

Written in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is widely considered to be one of the author’s greatest works. Set in New York City and Long Island during the Roaring Twenties, the focus of the story is (of course) its title character, Jay Gatsby, and his unswerving desire to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier. However, Nick Carraway, who happens to be both Gatsby’s neighbor and Daisy’s cousin, narrates Gatsby's journey from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death.

The Great Gatsby is undoubtedly one of the greatest American literary documents of the 1920s, the decade for which Fitzgerald himself coined the term “Jazz Age.” However, in writing the book, Fitzgerald was in fact holding up a mirror to the society of which he was a part. In true Modernist fashion, The Great Gatsby addresses the social issues of the period — namely materialism and displaced spirituality — that ultimately led the decline of the era.

The novel’s initial sales situation was less than impressive; fewer than 25,000 copies were sold by Fitzgerald’s death in 1940. But The Great Gatsby gained great popularity during WWII as the critical mainstream began to embrace the author’s work. The Armed Services Editions circulated 150,000 copies to troops alone. Today, The Great Gatsby has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, sells an additional 500,000 copies annually, and is Scribner's most popular title. Ranked #2 on the Modern Library’s list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century, the novel is also listed on their Top 100 Novels as well as The Observer’s All-Time 100 Best Novels and Time Magazine’s 100 Best Modern Novels.

The Great Gatsby has resulted in a number of adaptations, including Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, and Joel Edgerton.

From the publisher

"One of the most important works in American literature -- and, to many, the great American novel." -- Time. "I want to write something new, " F. Scott Fitzgerald told his editor, Maxwell Perkins, "something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." A century later, Fitzgerald's little book of big ideas retains its freshness and excitement. The quintessential portrait of Jazz Age America, it reflects the era's postwar exuberance as well as the corruption and immorality lurking behind the glamour of wild parties, dancing, and illegal drinking.
Narrator Nick Carraway -- a transplant from the Midwest like Fitzgerald himself -- observes the wasteful lives of his well-to-do neighbors in this tale of money, love, and the pursuit of the American dream. The unforgettable cast is headed by Jay Gatsby, a self-made man whose determination to realize his fantasies embodies both the glories of imagination and the grimness of reality. Above all, The Great Gatsby is animated by the magic of Fitzgerald's incandescent prose and its timeless exploration of the importance of honesty, the temptations of wealth, and the struggle to escape the past.

First Edition Identification

Charles Scribner’s Sons first published The Great Gatsby in April of 1925. A highly valued collectible, first editions can be identified by a number of points of issue, including a typo on the back of the dust jacket that spells “jay Gatsby” with a lowercase “j,” over which a correction has been made (by hand) in ink or with a stamp. Other points specific to the first edition include “chatter” on page 60, line 16; “northern” on page 119, line 22; “sick in tired” on page 205, lines 9-10; and “Union Street Station” on page 211, lines 7-8.

The cover of the first edition of The Great Gatsby is among the most celebrated in American literature. Artist Francis Cugat’s design depicts disembodied eyes and a mouth over a blue skyline with images of naked women reflected in the irises. It has been said that Fitzgerald so loved the art (which was completed before the book), that he rewrote parts of the book to better incorporate it.

With its original dust jacket, the rare first edition of The Great Gatsby has sold for between $100,000 and $150,000. Not too shabby — considering that same book sold for just $2 in 1925.

Details

  • Title The Great Gatsby
  • Author F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 144
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Dover Publications
  • Date 2021-01-13
  • ISBN 9780486845593 / 0486845591
  • Weight 0.2 lbs (0.09 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.5 in (20.07 x 12.45 x 1.27 cm)
  • Ages 09 to 12 years
  • Grade levels 4 - 7
  • Reading level 1010
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Demographic Orientation: Urban
    • Topical: Family
    • Topical: Friendship
  • Library of Congress subjects Psychological fiction, Love stories
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2020028665
  • Dewey Decimal Code 813.52

About the author

One of the great American writers of the 20th century whose works enjoy popular appeal as well as critical acclaim, F. Scott Fitzgerald is best known for his novel The Great Gatsby. His brilliant tales of the rich and glamorous defined the 1920s American era now known as the Jazz Age.
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